UIMA in the Biocuration Workflow: A coherent framework for cooperation between biologists and computational linguists

As collaborating partners, Barcelona Media Innovation Centre and GRIB (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) seek to combine strengths from Computational Linguistics and Biomedicine to produce a robust Text Mining system to generate data that will help biocurators in their daily work. The first version of this system will focus on the discovery of relationships between genes, SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) and diseases from the literature.

A first challenge that we were faced with during the setup of this project is the fact that most current tools that support the curation workflow are complex, ad-hoc built applications which sometimes make difficult the interoperability and results sharing between research groups from different and unrelated expert fields. Often, biologists (even computer-savvy ones) are hard pressed to use and adapt sophisticated Natural Language Processing systems, and computational linguists are challenged by the intricacies of biology in applying their processing pipelines to elicit knowledge from texts. The flow of knowledge (needed to develop a usable, practical tool) to and from the parties involved in the development of such systems is not always easy or straightforward.

The modular and versatile architecture of UIMA (Unstructed Information Management Architecture) provides a framework to address these challenges. UIMA is a component architecture and software framework implementation (including a UIMA SDK) to develop applications that analyse large volumes of unstructured information, and has been increasingly adopted by a significant part of the BioNLP community that needs industrial-grade and robust applications to exploit the whole bibliome. The use of UIMA to develop Text Mining applications useful for curation purposes allows the combination of diverse expertises which is beyond the individual know-how of biologists, computer scientists or linguists in isolation. A good synergy and circulation of knowledge between these experts is fundamental to the development of a successful curation tool

Digital Preservation Education in iSchools

This poster investigates digital preservation education in the iSchool caucus. The project identifies core concepts addressed in digital preservation coursework in iSchools and identifies possible areas for curriculum development. Digital preservation education at the graduate level is critical. To ensure long-term access and use of digital materials, information professionals must have a working knowledge of digital curation, which emphasizes a lifecycle approach to digital preservation [1]. Unfortunately, the topic of digital preservation education is not prominent in literature about digital curation. Only a handful of case studies and recommendations have been published regarding digital preservation education within information science, library science, and computer science graduate programs. Instead, much of the work on digital preservation education is contained in more general studies on educating digital librarians or electronic records managers. To understand how to better design curricula that engages central issues of digital curation at the graduate level, an investigation of the current state of digital preservation education is warranted. Coursework devoted solely to digital preservation is essential for graduate students in information-centric disciplines. The necessity for devoted coursework is due to the complex and multifaceted nature of the topic. Unfortunately, a 2006 study found that very few library or information science schools offered courses specifically on the topic of digital preservation. Furthermore, an extremely small percentage of students in library or information science programs had exposure to the critical aspects of digital preservation during their coursework [2]. Digital preservation education can and should be studied in iSchools. The core mission of the iSchool movement is to connect people, information, and technology [3]. Digital curation supports this mission by enabling the continued maintenance of digital information resources throughout their lifecycle, allowing them to be rendered and re-used in the long-term. It is an interdisciplinary process that hinges on expertise from many different fields, including computer science, information and library science, informatics, management, and education. Furthermore, iSchools are a natural home for digital library education [4] and there are significant overlaps between digital library education and digital curation education [5]. It follows that iSchools are an excellent venue for research on the topic of digital preservation education. This project examines digital preservation courses in iSchools over the past five years (2005-2009). Course descriptions and syllabi are examined in order to develop a definition of current practices in digital preservation education. Based on this definition, areas for future developments in digital preservation curricula are identified. Course catalogs from the 26 iSchools have been analyzed to determine whether or not schools offer classes specifically on the topic of digital preservation. Of the 26 iSchools, 9 schools offer degrees in information science and in library science, 6 award degrees in information science but not in library science, and 5 award degrees in library science and not information science. The remaining 6 schools offer a variety of degrees, including computer science, information management, and information technology. These categories will be useful in determining what types of iSchools, if any, are leaders in digital preservation education. All of the schools that have been examined to date offer course catalogs and course descriptions on the open web. Many of the course syllabi are also available online. The course must contain the phrase ???Digital Preservation??? in its title or course description in order to be included. One-shot sessions and classes that deal with a subset of digital preservation, such as classes on digital libraries, are not considered. Course themes and assignments are compared to the DigCCurr Matrix of Digital Curation Knowledge and Competencies. This six-dimensional matrix from the University of North Carolina DigCCurr project defines and organizes materials to be covered in digital curation coursework [6]. This analysis will identify current strengths and potential areas for further development in digital preservation education. The study will also address the question of where current digital preservation course materials fit within the larger scope of digital curation knowledge and competencies

Towards Researcher Participation in Research Information Systems

This poster presents an ongoing collaborative study supported by OCLC/ALISE LIS Research Grant. This mainly includes description and research design of this study. The project explores researcher participation in research identity management systems (e.g., Google Scholar, ResearchGate, ORCID). It will especially discuss about knowledge base of how to design reliable, efficient and scalable solutions for the systems, motivate researchers to participate in the systems, and contribute to the system development in digital library settings. Accurate research identity identification and determination are essential for effective grouping, linking, aggregation, and retrieval of digital scholarship; evaluation of the research productivity and impact of individuals, groups, and institutions; and identification of expertise and skills. There are many different research identity management systems from publishers, libraries, universities, search engines and content aggregators with different data models, coverage and quality. Although knowledge curation by professionals usually produces the highest quality results, it may not be scalable because of its high cost. The literature on online communities shows that successful peer curation communities which are able to attract and retain enough participants can provide scalable knowledge curation solutions of a quality that is comparable to the quality of professionally curated content. Hence, the success of online research identity management systems may depend on the number of contributors and users they are able to recruit, motivate, and engage in research identity data curation. The outcomes of this exploratory research will include but not be limited to a qualitative theory of research identity data and information practices of researchers, quantitative model(s) of researchers’ priorities for different online research identity data and services, the factors that may affect their participation in and commitment to online research identity management systems, and their motivations to engage in research identity data curation. The study’s findings can greatly enhance our knowledge of the design of research identity data/metadata models, services, quality assurance activities, and, mechanisms for recruiting and retaining researchers for provision and maintenance of identity data.Institute of Museum and Library Services; OCLC; Association for Library & Information Science Educatio

The Road to Partnership: a Stepwise, Iterative Approach to Organisational Collaboration in RDM, Archives and Records Management

Research data management (RDM) sits at the confluence of a number of related roles. The shape an RDM confluence takes depends on several factors including the nature of an organisation and the research that it undertakes. At St George’s, University of London, the UK’s only university dedicated to medical and health sciences education, training and research, RDM has been intricately interwoven with organisational information governance roles since its inception. RDM is represented on our institutional Information Governance Steering Group and our Information Management Team consisting of information governance, data protection, freedom of information, archives, records management and RDM. This paper reports on how RDM, archives and records management have collaborated using a step-wise, iterative process to streamline and harmonise our guidance and workflows in relation to the stewardship, curation and preservation of research data. As part of this we consistently develop, conduct and evaluate small projects on managing, curating and preserving data. We present three projects that we collaborated on to transform research data services across each of our departments: planning for, conducting and reporting on interviews with wet laboratory researchers advocating, building a case for and delivering a university-wide digital preservation system ongoing work to recover, preserve and facilitate access to a unique national health database Learnings from these projects are used to develop our guidance, improve our activities and integrate our workflows, the outcomes of which may be further evaluated. Learnings are also used to improve our ways of working together. Through deeper integration of our activities and workflows, rather than simply aligning aspects of our work, we are increasingly becoming partners on research data stewardship, curation and preservation. This approach offers several benefits to the organisation as it allows us to build on our related knowledge and skills and deliver outcomes that demonstrate greater value to the organisation and the researchers we support

Institutional Repository Use of Vendor-Based Solutions Relating to Technical Knowledge and Digital Curation

Institutional repositories (IRs) are digital collections that curate and disseminate the intellectual output of an institution. They play a significant role in the open access movement and in providing access to research and scholarly outputs. Vendor-based systems (VBSs) are a popular option for managing IRs. VBSs offer a number of advantages, including scalability, security, and support. However, they are expensive and require a high degree of technical knowledge for staff to extend the IR collections into digital preservation workflows. This paper examines the impact of VBSs on digital curation and preservation in IRs. The paper begins by providing an overview of IRs and VBSs. It then discusses the benefits and drawbacks of VBSs relating to the executable connectivity for digital curation and preservation by digital librarians. Finally, the paper presents the results of a survey that gauged current technical knowledge and other aspects of those working in the librarian roles of digital curation/preservation, asset management, and institutional repository management of scholarly digital assets. The analysis of the survey suggests several factors that inhibit IRs from utilizing VBSs to their fullest for digital curation and preservation. Overall, a VBS is a valuable tool for digital curation and preservation in IRs if gaps in technical knowledge, increased resources, and stakeholder support are improved

The rise of the citizen curator : participation as curation on the web

From jazz clubs to cheese plates, the term curation has become a signifier of the growing need to organise and prioritise the seemingly endless possibilities of the digital sphere. The issue addressed here is in the associated meanings of the word curation and what it means to be a curator by examining the experience of the curatorial within a discrete context: the Irish curatorial landscape. The word curation comes from the Latin curare, to care for, and has long been associated with the professional duties of those selected as custodians for objects and knowledge deemed to be important to communities, nations, countries or even the world. However, as objects move from being purely physical to the digital, and knowledge changes from being transmitted through similarly physical media to digital formats that can be set free on the Web, what it means to curate has also changed. Curators are no longer necessarily identified as employed within museums or galleries; the word is now also applied to those who engage with and aid in the management and presentation of digital assets online. Curators have emerged in the online space much like their forerunners, bloggers or citizen journalists. We are now seeing the rise of citizen curators on the Web, which has not created these individually motivated curators, but has made their curatorial activities visible. Citizen journalists no longer need to have a printing press or publishing house to communicate with their audience; similarly, citizen curators do not need a private cabinet of curiosities or a job in a museum to allow them to curate or exhibit to an audience.The aims of this research are threefold: to examine the current terminology related to curation by those who identify as curators or engage in curation in Ireland; to define what it means to be a curator or a citizen curator within the Irish context; and to investigate the changing nature of exhibition spaces contained in the Irish context in light of the Web and digital spaces. The study will take the form of an autoethnography, exploiting my unique position within the museum and open knowledge community in Ireland to examine current understandings of curation and the phenomenon of the citizen curator. The focus will be on my work within Wikimedia Community Ireland (WCI), a branch of the Wikimedia Foundation which promotes the use of Wikipedia in Ireland in education, culture, and open knowledge. As an autoethnographer, I can act as an intermediary, part way between those working in cultural organisations and the public involved in knowledge building projects. The study will look at how those engaged in curation articulate the work they do by means of interviews and participant observation. These sources will allow for the development of a spectrum of curatorial practice.The spectrum will arise from the participants’ (both citizen curators and those working in Irish cultural institutions) own understanding and definitions of curation and what it means to curate. In placing these definitions of curation within a spectrum that takes in broader understandings of curatorial practice, the newer forms of digital curation, and a picture of how the citizen curator relates to these methods, will emerge. The disruptive effect which the digital, and in particular the concept of the Long Tail, has brought to bear upon understanding of the assembling, storing, and using of collections will be examined. It will answer many of the issues surrounding the discipline-specific definitions of curation and the curator while informing their relationship with each other. By drawing out curation into a spectrum, what unfolds is the movement of curation from a traditional and closed system of learnt practices, to one which is formed around more open and accessible conventions of curation. In identifying the citizen curator, their role in the larger curatorial debate can be acknowledged and better incorporated into the multitude of online curated projects. This hinges on the emergence of the Do It With Others ethos which pervades both online and offline creative communities, and it redefines curation from a solitary practice, to one which is demarcated by its participatory nature

Research Data Preservation Practices of Library and Information Science Faculties.

Digitisation of research data is widely increasing all around the world because it needs more and development of enormous digital technologies. Data curation services are starting to offer many libraries. Research data curation is the collective invaluable and reusable information of the researchers. Collected data preservation is more important. The majority of the higher education institutes preserved the research data for their students and researchers. It is stored for a long time using various formats. It is called research data preservation. Without proper research data management plan and implementation cannot curate the research data. The aim of the study is to identify the Asian Library and Information Science (LIS) faculties’ experiences in the research data preservation and curation during their research. Data management, curation and preservation all are interlinked. For reuse of the research data; data curation is an essential role. For this research, we adopted a survey method and an online questionnaire was shared with 1400 LIS professionals, belonging to the Asian region but the completed study respondents are 125 university faculties from various Asian countries. The study findings are 76.8 per cent generated statistical data followed by 58.4 per cent textual files. By far, the most preferable data analysis tool is Microsoft Excel 82.4 per cent. Moreover, the result shows that generated data is mostly stored by personal computers and laptop hard disks. This study concludes LIS faculties having adequate skills and knowledge on data curation and preservation even though they are expecting more services from their academic institute

Curating Humanities Research Data: Managing Workflows for Adjusting a Repository Framework

Handling heterogeneous data, subject to minimal costs, can be perceived as a classic management problem. The approach at hand applies established managerial theorizing to the field of data curation. It is argued, however, that data curation cannot merely be treated as a standard case of applying management theory in a traditional sense. Rather, the practice of curating humanities research data, the specifications and adjustments of the model suggested here reveal an intertwined process, in which knowledge of both strategic management and solid information technology have to be considered. Thus, suggestions on the strategic positioning of research data, which can be used as an analytical tool to understand the proposed workflow mechanisms, and the definition of workflow modules, which can be flexibly used in designing new standard workflows to configure research data repositories, are put forward

Purdue Data Reuse Checklist: An Archival Approach for Data Producers

The Data Reuse Checklist is intended to help a data producer verify their research data is well-described and read for reuse by a third party. It was developed from the perspective of an archivist working with research data and borrows best practices from archival processing and research. Archivists at Purdue University Libraries have been working with data curation initiatives since the mid-2000s. Early in the Libraries’ work with managing research data, Dean of Libraries James Mullins saw the value of archivists’ knowledge in areas such as raw “data” collection, sensitive or personal information management, and defining user groups. Mullins brought the University Archivist onto the Steering Committee for the Purdue University Research Repository (PURR) in 2011 and today archivists continue to collaborate with data librarians and faculty researchers on managing, curating, and preserving research data. This checklist was created in 2016 for use in the Purdue G.R.I.P (Graduate Research Information Portal) course Data Management IV, instructed by Carly Dearborn and Megan Sapp Nelson